Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
NATO military brass gather in Brussels. They’ll discuss terrorism, refugees, and ISIL, among other topics. The US will make its case for allies contributing additional forces to Afghanistan, to complement its own likely surge of troops. The meeting precedes next week’s NATO summit, where among the heads of state will be, for the first time, US president Donald Trump.
EU and US officials meet to discuss a carry-on laptop ban. The EU will urge the US to refrain from unilaterally banning laptops and other electronics in cabins of flights to America from Europe. The US is acting on intel—sensitive details of which Trump shared with Russian diplomats—that terrorists plan to work explosives into such devices.
Google puts on a show. The company’s annual developer conference in Silicon Valley is likely to focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Its Google Assistant service is expected to get center stage, including a possible launch on iPhones.
While you were sleeping
Trump allegedly asked James Comey to drop the Michael Flynn probe. ”I hope you can let this go,” Comey quoted Trump as saying in a memo he wrote after meeting with the US president in February. The memo, uncovered by the New York Times (paywall), suggests Trump has tried to directly influence investigations into links between his associates—including former national security advisor Flynn—and Russia.
The intel Trump leaked to Russia reportedly came from Israel. The New York Times reported that (paywall) information about a possible ISIL terrorist attack included at least some details from America’s primary Middle East ally, raising fears that it could interfere with future intelligence sharing. Trump said it was his “absolute right” to share the intel, but US lawmakers demanded an explanation.
Apple will soon announce an update to its laptop lineup. The unveiling of three new laptops will occur at an annual conference in early June, according to Bloomberg. The move will address new competition from Microsoft and slowing sales of iPads. This month Microsoft debuted the Surface Laptop, its answer to the MacBook Air.
Bombardier awarded IBM with a $700 million contract. The Canadian maker of snowmobiles, business jets, and subway cars wants Big Blue to streamline its IT operations and find cost savings in a six-year deal spanning nearly 50 countries. It’s a welcome score for IBM, which has seen its revenue fall for 20 straight quarters.
Quartz obsession interlude
Eshe Nelson on investors who love to follow the herd. “Snap reported a staggering quarterly loss [and] plummeted by more than 20%. Two days later, Snap’s share price jumped by 8%. What made investors forget about that multibillion-dollar loss so quickly? This is what—a bunch of regulatory filings came out showing hedge funds and other asset managers had bought Snap shares in the first quarter.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Analysts never / Say sell. Except for Twitter. / Twitter you should sell.
Matters of debate
An art degree may save you from automation. VC Kai-Fu Lee says that art and beauty are “very hard to replicate with AI.”
Murphy’s Law is totally misunderstood. “Everything that can go wrong will” is not pessimism, but a call to excel.
Pixar has lost its way. After years of unmatched creative excellence, derivative sequels have taken over.
Surprising discoveries
A Nigerian-American comedian is a surprise star in Japan. Ike Nwala got a job with Goldman Sachs in Tokyo to pursue his dream.
Apple’s new $5 billion campus has a 100,000-square-foot gym, but no daycare. No wonder Silicon Valley struggles to attract and retain women.
Korean companies are forcing employees to use English nicknames. It helps with breaking down rigid hierarchies (paywall) and courting foreign business partners.
CEOs are actually getting fired for ethical lapses. The numbers are still relatively small, but they’re on the rise.
Avocados are delicious but dangerous. Doctors are warning of a surge in “avocado hand” wounds (paywall).
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